Steamboat men OK after Kremmling explosion

Steamboat Springs  Two Steamboat Springs men injured in a house explosion in Kremmling on Tuesday afternoon are in stable condition and recovering at University Hospital in Denver, a friend said Wednesday.

Jordan Worden and Nate Gould, both 23, suffered minor burns when fumes from a primer they were using in the home’s crawl space ignited and caused an explosion at about 3 p.m. Tuesday in downtown Kremmling. The men were rushed to Kremmling Memorial Hospital and then flown to University Hospital, Kremmling Police Chief Scott Spade said.

Jon Sanders, a Steamboat Springs resident and friend of the men, visited them in the hospital Tuesday.

“They’re in good shape,” Sanders said. “They definitely had some angels on their shoulders. They were in a crawl space when the place exploded.”

According to police, the men were performing mold remediation on behalf of Dry Masters, a Steamboat-based company. A phone message left with the company was not returned Wednesday.

Spade said the explosion is thought to be the result of a buildup of vapors from the primer the men were using to seal the home’s floor joists and underside of the subfloor. The ignition source that caused the explosion has not been identified.

Both men left the crawlspace under their own power, Spade said. A Kremmling Police Department officer hosed the men down with a garden hose before they were transferred by Grand County Emergency Medical Services personnel to the Kremmling hospital.

Sanders said the men suffered burns to their hands, arms and legs. Their faces were protected from burns by the masks and ventilators they were wearing at the time.

Sanders said the men are expected to be released from the hospital in the next couple of days.

Sanders and others are looking into hosting a fundraiser to help “get them over the hump until they can work again.” He said neither has medical insurance. Details of the fundraiser have not been finalized.

I know nothing regarding this case. But I do know that there are a significant number of folks expecting great pricing on construction related jobs due to the economy and an almost equal number of contractors willing to set aside normal safety precautions (in case of an unlikely event) to be able to make a profit......and eat. At least they had respiratory protection even if not sufficient ventilation to keep it below the lower explosive limit.

My heart goes out to those who, lacking training in potential hazards and the need to work in a potentially hazardous environment, are being asked to work in an environment where the risks have not been minimized. It seems the economy has brought a bit of the third world here.

Climbing harnesses, safety goggles, explosion proof fans, proper electrical isolation and tag outs, all cost money and time. All to prevent an unlikely occurance in the first place and folks are compromising their standards. The price of an eye, ones hearing, a broken bone, or worse is going down these days. Its sad.

The cost may also reflect the "migrant workers" influence on the market.
Funny; defending illegal immigration are the same people who's unions want higher wages and safer work conditions. Leftits logic is so funny. I can never get enough... well,